Police searching for missing toddler Ben Needham have found evidence of "decomposition" at the Kos dig site.

Detective Inspector Jon Cousins revealed they would be closely examining an area in the olive grove behind the farmhouse where Ben disappeared.

It comes as a result of soil samples being sent to the UK.

They are still being examined back at a laboratory in Aberdeen.

Forensic scientists have been unable to rule out whether the "decomposition" is human.

In tests from three other areas they managed to establish the decomposed remains were that of a dog, a bat and from human waste from a cess tank.

(Image: PHILIP COBURN/Daily Mirror)

(Image: PHILIP COBURN/Daily Mirror)

(Image: PHILIP COBURN/Daily Mirror)

(Image: PHILIP COBURN/Daily Mirror)

Experts who have been involved in the world famous Body Farm project in Texas have been drafted in to help.

DI Cousins said: "There is another area of decomposition that has not been ruled out yet and that is what we are working on.

"The scientists have been unable to determine what it is."

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Experts who have been involved in the world famous Body Farm project in Texas have been drafted in to help.

DI Cousins said: "There is another area of decomposition that has not been ruled out yet and that is what we are working on.

"The scientists have been unable to determine what it is."

Cousins added that new "ground breaking" techniques are helping them in the investigation.

Special new tests carried out in laboratories are

They are particularly interested in a "cess tank" found on the land.

They want to rule out whether any remains of Ben are in land in and around the tank.

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(Image: Philip Coburn/Daily Mirror)

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Detective inspector Jon Cousins Said "A new separate area of interest" would shortly be examined.

He said he was pleased with the progress of the investigation.

Detectives yesterday began digging at the base of a fig tree after a photo showed it must have been planted since the toddler went missing.

Officers analysed the picture, which was taken around 10 days after Ben vanished in 1991.

They discovered the tree – now about 25ft high – was not there at the time.

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DI Jon Cousins said: “The only record we have of the time that Ben disappeared in 1991 is a photo.

“It was taken around 10 to 14 days after his disappearance, when members of the media arrived here on Kos to have a look at the investigation.

“It is the earliest record we have and the closest record of the time Ben disappeared. There is an indication that a tree that is here now clearly wasn’t there at the time.

“That is why we are concentrating our effort around it this morning, to make sure we have covered it.

“We have been able to analyse that area with the experts who are here now and, of course, we are able to look at all the fauna and tree growth around it.”

(Image: Philip Coburn/Daily Mirror)

(Image: Philip Coburn/Daily Mirror)

(Image: Reuters)

(Image: Daily Mirror / Philip Coburn)

The news came on the day the police allowed the Daily Mirror into the abandoned farmhouse where little Ben was last seen alive.

Detectives gave us access to the two rooms from where Ben’s grandparents, Eddie and Christine Needham, watched as the youngster played outside.

Behind the rundown house in the ­mountain village of Iraklis yesterday, diggers broke the silence, continuing to shift tons of earth in the hunt for clues to what happened when Ben vanished at about 2.30pm on July 24, 1991.

The farmhouse – which was once being done up by Ben’s grandfather – was opened to us to help us understand how the youngster roamed about while playing in the scorching summer sun.

“Ben was in and out of this building, playing,” said a police spokesman. “His grandparents spent time in here taking shelter from the sun. This is where they first discovered he was missing, so it has a lot of significance from an emotional point of view.”

Officers say they are pleased with how the new investigation is going. Det Insp Jon Cousins, of South Yorkshire Police, said they had made “excellent” progress.

(Image: Daily Mirror / Philip Coburn)

(Image: Reuters)

(Image: Reuters)

(Image: Daily Mirror/Philip Coburn)

A 19-strong team of South Yorkshire and Greek police officers, forensic specialists and an archaeologist have been searching the dusty stretch of olive grove, which has been used for farming for generations.

Mr Cousins revealed that one line of inquiry they are focusing on is the sandals Ben was wearing on the day he disappeared. And he disclosed that part of a sandal was found during their initial excavations back in 2012. Experts are now determining if that segment has any connection to Ben.

Mr Cousins said: “There is quite a bit of work to be done. The fragments have been tested and we found no DNA. You can imagine the condition they’re in after 25 years in the ground.

“They’re very broken and I want them compared to make sure we have not missed any opportunity.” He added: “We have made inquiries on the island regarding the sandals Ben was wearing in a photo.

“I’m having an exact copy made by a local cobbler. I know Ben’s sandals were bought on the island and once we have got the copy it will be going off to be checked against the items found in 2012.”

(Image: Andy Stenning/Daily Mirror)

(Image: AP)

(Image: John Alevroyiannis)

Ben’s mum Kerry, 43, from Sheffield, who was working at a hotel on Kos on the day her son disappeared, said: “We are trying to keep an open mind and stay strong until the results come back. I’m hoping that it will be soon.”

Kos was hit by a major earthquake early yesterday morning but British police said it had not affected their work. Buildings around the site were checked for structural damage but none was found.

The quake, measuring 5.4, struck off the island of Rhodes, just to the south of Kos.

Earlier this week, officers revealed that several scraps of material were found near the house. Scores of bones were also discovered and these were confirmed as being the remains of animals.